A Prayer of Hope

For the Candler School of Theology General Staff Meeting
Monday 22 September 2008

We pray to you,
God who is our Mother,
God who is our Father.
We are Yours.
We pray that we may know Your love
and will for our lives.

In this School of Theology,
comfort us as we seek Your presence
in our everyday lives,
in Your Scriptures,
in Your Church.
Help us form Your leaders
as they leave this place to carry Your Good News
of love and justice.

In this State of Georgia,
make us uncomfortable,
as we are set to execute one of Your Children,
Troy Davis.
We pray for Your Gospel of Life
to stir the hearts of Your Children
Governor Sonny Purdue
and the members of the Board of Pardons.

In this space here,
be present with us. In the name of Your Child
and our Brother Jesus, Your Chosen One
who came to us not as a king,
not as a politician,
but as a helpless and unplanned Baby
and an Executed Criminal.

Amen.


Note: For those not aware, Troy Davis is a black man convicted of killing a white police officer based solely on eyewitness testimony (no murder weapon, no physical evidence of any kind). Since his conviction, 7 of 9 of the original witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony, several citing police coercion. These recantations have never been heard by a jury. To me, this is the epitome of "a reasonable doubt." Mr. Davis is scheduled to be executed tomorrow, Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. EST. Please write to Governor Sonny Purdue to request that a man can have all of the evidence in his case heard before he is put to death.

Alan Gell. 6 Years on Death Row in North Carolina. Later Found Innocent.
Raleigh, NC, September 2004